In the mid-twentieth century, historians began exploring the lives of ordinary people whose contributions from below were important to cultural developments of their times. Former university historian Mary Jo Bratton applied this strategy to ECU history by emphasizing – in addition to presidents and chancellors, provosts and deans, professors and adjuncts – the work of others who in earlier accounts were often marginalized if not omitted and forgotten. Bratton’s history of ECU features a full-page picture of John Henry Bizzell receiving, in 1977, an Employee of the Year Award. Bizzell served East Carolina from 1934 until his retirement two years later in 1979, a total of forty-five years. He began his career as a janitor but retired as supervisor of housekeeping. Long before African-American faculty and students were allowed, Bizzell was an integral part of campus life, revealing that even during the height of Jim Crow segregation, a measure of integration existed. A brief summary of his life moreover reveals that he not only helped keep the campus clean and presentable, but exemplified the school’s ethic of service in exceptional ways.
Bizzell was born in Philadelphia on October 27, 1914, the son of Alonza D. and Lula M. Bizzell. Although born in Pennsylvania, Bizzell’s parents hailed from North Carolina. And, in 1930, Bizzell, then 16, moved to Greenville and rented a lodging at 222 North Reade Street, near the Tar River and proximate the Sycamore Hill Baptist Church. He soon became a devoted member of that church. When he passed away in 1999, it was at Sycamore Hill, then relocated on Hooker Road, that his funeral was held.
On October 31, 1935, Bizzell, 21, married Lossie Bell Williams (1913-1997), a native of Winterville whose family had subsequently moved to Greenville. Five years later, in 1940, U.S. Census records report that Bizzell, then accompanied by his wife, still lived at 222 North Reade Street, paying monthly rent of $12.00. According to the 1940 census, Bizzell had attended high school and worked 24 weeks of the year, earning an annual salary of $240.00. Bizzell’s occupation was listed as “janitor.” During the week of the census, March 24-30, 1940, Bizzell reportedly worked 60 hours. His wife Lossie worked 12 weeks of the year, in tobacco as a “hand stemmer,” making $120.00 a year.
Three years later, on June 16, 1943, Bizzell enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg as a private, with his term of enlistment being the duration of the war. Following WWII, Bizzell returned to Greenville and resumed work at ECTC as a janitor, his service in the Army during WWII being the only period in his adult life when he lived away from his new home town.
By 1958, a decade before an urban renewal project razed the African-American community flanking the Sycamore Hill Baptist Church, Bizzell had moved to 1207 West Fourth Street, across the street from Dr. Andrew A. Best, an African-American physician and community leader. Although their professions differed, Bizzell, like Best, devoted himself to public service. Also, like Best, Bizzell was a pioneering public servant, crossing lines that earlier defined the bounds of Jim Crow society. Most notably, in 1965 Bizzell became the first African-American appointed to the Greenville City Board of Education. He continued to serve on that board throughout the decade that followed. In 1973, Bizzell received the North Carolina School Board Association Distinguished Service Award honoring his years of service.
Bizzell was also a member of the Mt. Hermon Masonic Lodge No. 35, and served as its treasurer for 15 years. He also served as president of Greenville’s Bachelor-Benedict Club for 20 years. Bizzell sat on the boards of a number of organizations including the Pitt County United Fund, Operation Sunshine for Girls, the Eastern Lung Association, Pitt County Cancer Society, Pitt County Mental Health Association, and the Pitt County Humane Society. Politically active, he was second vice-president of the Pitt County Democratic Executive Committee. Bizzell was also affiliated with the Pitt-Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Pitt County Council on Aging, Inc., Pitt County Red Cross, and the Pitt County Domiciliary Home Community Advisory Committee.
Bizzell was involved in Greenville city government, being appointed in 1986, by Mayor Les Garner, to serve on the mayoral Ad Hoc Budget Advisory Committee. In February 1989, Bizzell was appointed chairman of the City of Greenville Parking Authority, and in July 1991, he was named secretary-treasurer of the Pitt-Greenville Airport Authority, a position he held until the year of his passing, 1999. He additionally served two terms on the Greenville Recreation Commission. Moreover, Bizzell was a volunteer fireman in Greenville for over 44 years. He was also a member of the North Carolina Volunteer Fireman Association and the North Carolina State Fireman Association. He served as recording secretary for the latter for over 40 years. In July 1977, Governor Jim Hunt appointed him to a six-year term on the Pitt County Social Service Board.
Bizzell’s exceptional devotion to community service led to numerous honors and certificates. Prior to his passing he received the First Native Son Award from the Ebenezer Baptist Church, La Grange, N.C., for his outstanding achievements and contributions to Greenville, Pitt County, and the state. Along with his 45 years of professional devotion to East Carolina, Bizzell’s substantial record of public service in Greenville and Pitt County merit his recognition as one of the most exceptional exemplars of East Carolina’s service ethic.
Sources
- "Bizzell, John H." City Directory. Greenville, N. C. 1958. P. 121.
- Bratton, Mary Jo. East Carolina University: The Formative Years, 1907-1982. Greenville, N.C.: East Carolina University Alumni Association, 1986.
- "Henry Bizzell." North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.
- "John Bizzell." United States Bureau of Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States. 1940. Census Place: Greenville, Pitt, North Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-02959; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 74-34.
- "John H. Bizzell." U.S. Social Security Death Index. State of North Carolina. SSN 240-03-9494.
- "John H. Bizzell." U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records. Record Group 64. National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
- "John Henry Bizzell." U.S. Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. National Archives at Atlanta. Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975. RG 147, Box. 29.
- "Obituary: John Henry Bizzell." Daily Reflector. January 21, 1999. P. B2.
Citation Information
Title: John Henry Bizzell
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/10/2018